Texas STaR Chart Presentation-North Star Elementary

The STaR Chart data analysis during the three year period shows our greatest strength and weakness.

Texas STaR Chart

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Progress Report on the Texas Long Range Plan for Technology

The Texas Long Range Plan for Technology is our state’s forecast of what technology use in classrooms will look like in the future. Although it was interesting to read and explore the plan, I was left wondering how this plan would be implemented considering the current budget constraints that we face. According to the plan, the infrastructure system will provide 24/7 access to e-learning; technical assistance; secured data; and standards to support all users. Texas campuses provide adequate technology tools however due to the speed that technology undergoes many of these tools need to be upgraded. Furthermore, budgetary constraints make the upgrading of these systems seem remote. For this reason, many districts have passed bonds or have written grants to secure funds to upgrade their technology. State funds for technology have been exchanged for federal dollars. I understand that this plan is a best case scenario, and we should strive for it. I don’t believe it is very realistic.  According to the plan, the state will have to increase its contribution for technology from $27 per student per year to $123 per student per year ("Texas Education Agency - Long Range Plan for Technology (LRPT)," 2006. School in Texas rated as Advanced Tech in 2008 increased 3% to a total of 20%. Target Tech schools remained at 1%. The Texas Education Agency was tasked with supporting the implementation of Pre K- technology guidelines, the adoption of technology applications instructional materials, online learning tools for all learners including the disabled, and programs that encourage parent communication and involvement.


http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/comm/leg%20reports/2008/08pr to 1rpt.pdf.

National Educational Technology Plan

The National Educational Technology Plan is an extensive document geared towards the successful implementation of a unified pathway to teaching and learning through the use of technology. The plan calls for commitment by all to ensure success for using technology effectively. Through planning and recommendations from thousands of professionals throughout the nation the plan was born to shape the vision of the future of education. The details of the plan are recommended based on five strategic goals that must be met; Learning, Assessment, Teaching, Infrastructure and Productivity. Each goal is meticulously detailed in order to provide a vision for the nation's future. A 21^st century education requires us to give students more power over their own learning, and the ability to tap into the same plugged in world that many experience outside of school. There should be core standards, but all students should be expected and enabled to use their own impetus to go past the core and beyond the classroom, to use technology to access global resources, to connect to people, to create, to experiment, and to learn. Students, teachers, and administrators must have the immediate and continuous feedback to know if students are on track and where any gaps are, and then access to interventions that propel the students forward. This is the ultimate goal of all assessments. And our goal is that by 2020, every student will graduate high school, and be career and college ready, and for those graduates to go on and complete a college degree. The teacher becomes the focus point of a connected teaching team. Teachers are fully connected to content, resources, and systems that empower them to create, manage, and assess engaging and relevant individual and group learning experiences. The plan is a powerful call to the state educational systems, school districts, administrators, educators, students and parents to wake up and do more. It states a clear vision as to where our nation should be and wants to be soon.

The Texas Long -Range Plan for Technology

The Texas Long Range Plan for Technology, 2006-2020 describes four key areas targeted for growth across the state; Teaching & Learning, Educator Preparation & Development, Leadership, Administration, & Instructional Support and Infrastructure for Technology. One of the Key Areas of the Texas Long-Range Plan for Technology 2006-2020 is Educator Preparation and Development. This key area addresses the professional development needs of teachers and all members of the education community. It is further broken down into the following Focus Areas: Professional Development Experiences, Models of Professional Development, Capabilities of Educators, Access to Professional Development, Levels of Understanding and Patterns of Use, and Professional Development for Online Learning. The professional developments must be aligned with the SBEC Technology Application standards to support lesson planning, classroom management, and administrative tasks. This area has shown little growth in the last three years based on the state and local STaR Chart results, a tool used to track progress by teachers, campuses, and districts toward achieving the goals of the Texas Long Range Plan for Technology. A review of the STaR charts for my local campus and the state summary results shows little growth over the last three years. While the largest percentages of teachers and campuses are in the developing and advanced levels, there has been only a very slow movement upward in those numbers. If the Long-Range Plan for Technology is to be effective, there must be strategies put into place that can realistically be accomplished and measure. By being able to follow the recommendations for Teaching and Learning, preparation of the educator/professional development, and Administrative support, the goal can be reached by 2020. The largest area of concern is the very low levels reported in the highest proficiency level (Target Tech), less than 1% state-wide and also the lowest reported on my own campus. Professional development needs to be at a level the teacher is comfortable using and provide specific curricular uses in the classroom. Educators must be allowed to access technology at a level where they feel comfortable exploring and then moved forward skill levels strategically connecting each successive skill to a usable classroom curricular tie The best way for improvement in this area (Educator Preparation and Development) is extended and continuously access to technology professional development.

Educational Leaders using blogs

Blogs will help the educational leaders to share their thoughts,feelings,opinions forward as they engaged in discussions and small group conversation with others leaders and/or educators. They can discuss different options to help teachers' and students' success.

Action research is a term used to describe the process of identifying a problem or a situation in the classroom, collecting data, and interpreting that data. This process is beneficial to administrator, teachers and students, since it is concerned with improving the immediate learning environment. Actions research is thus a practical tool which every practitioner can use as a means of improving the teaching/learning environment, since it involves qualitative and subjective reflection on the learning process. The research question can be driven by concerns about curriculum, student behavior, parent participation, classroom management, or test results. Action research is a reflective process that is destined to provide a framework for administrators to analyze what goes on in schools. It is a way for principals to reflect and feel empowered to find solutions to their own problems.I think the capability of reflection for school leaders practice has a vital part in our leadership journey. I believe that the reflection in my action research will help me in my current assignment to improve teaching and learning. As a support teacher, action research is beneficial because I would have genuine data to support our teachers and/or to show that we need to modify what we are doing. I am already sharing ideas with other educators on my campus!